Within the plumbing industry there has been a great need for various devices which aid in testing plumbing installations. It is general practice, and is often required by local building codes, to test new or repaired plumbing installations for leakage. This is particularly true for waste-water drainage systems. Testing is performed by closing access to a drain tee, filling the drain pipe and other portions of the drainage system to be tested with water under pressure, and inspecting the drainage system for leaks. Various testing methods and devices have been designed to close access to the drain tee.
The drain pipe may be capped and tested before the drain tee is attached thereto. The testing must occur prior to the installation of the tub drainage system.
Alternatively, a deflated, inflatable balloon or air bag may be inserted into the tub overflow conduit until the balloon is appropriately positioned within the drain tee. The balloon or air bag is then inflated to close the drain tee at the location of the balloon and prevent the escape of the test water into the tub. Such a device is difficult to use, particularly where the conduit has a small diameter. The device is also apt to improperly seal and leak under conditions where the balloon or air bag is required to resist elevated testing pressures. An erroneous test result may thus occur.
Other alternatives include the use of specially designed Y or T conduit test sections having various plug, gate, or inflatable bag assemblies. Sullivan, (U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,568), Cohen (U.S. Pat. No. 1,720,819), Tagliarino (U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,642), Roberson (U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,861), and Kennedy (U.S. Pat. No. 1,948,220) all disclose various closure devices. These types of closure structures are not only complicated, and accordingly expensive to manufacture, but they are also difficult to install.